Journalism students travel to Poland for newspaper's social media experiment

A group of journalism students from City University London have been invited to Poland by newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, to take part in a social media experiment.

According to a release from both City University and Gazeta Wyborcza 21 students will set off on the nine-day journeys to 21 Polish cities on 18 June, to "determine whether the country is ready" to host the 2012 Euro Championship.

The project, called Mission 21, is an experiment for the newspaper which wants to test to what extent social media tools can be used to stimulate public debate and enrich journalism.

"The students themselves are a diverse group, representing 11 different nationalities, to capture a range of perspectives and experiences likely to be encountered by tourists travelling to the country," the release adds.

"Most of them know almost nothing about Poland and none of them speak Polish."

Professor George Brock, head of journalism at City University said it was a rare opportunity for the students.

"It is a unique chance for 21 of our best students to do some hands-on reporting in a foreign country, the kind of chance they are not likely to have again until well into their journalistic careers. They are all tremendously excited - as they should be!"